On Street, Vaccine Enthusiasm, Caution Mix

In the aftermath of his brother-in-law’s sudden death from the Covid-19 virus last week, Ronald Taylor isn’t taking his health for granted. He’s ready for his Covid-19 vaccine shot when it becomes available.

Taylor’s brother-in-law, Timothy Madden, died the night he was admitted to the hospital for the deadly virus.

“I would have never thought he’d have gotten it,” Taylor, a 58-year-old carpet installer who lives in Fair Haven, said. ​“It’s definitely made me more aware.” He said he wears his mask more diligently now.

“I’ve been very lucky” not to have contracted Covid so far, Taylor added.

Taylor reflected on the vaccine outside Walgreens on Wednesday afternoon. He stood just blocks away from Yale New Haven Hospital, where healthcare workers received the first few doses of the Pfizer vaccine in New Haven on Tuesday.

People across the globe are watching as Covid-19 vaccines have started to get distributed, some eager for their own chance to get immunized and some holding their breath.

City officials have outlined a plan to distribute the vaccine in New Haven, where public health officials and doctors have repeatedly urged the public to opt into immunization. In clinical trials, the Pfizer vaccine was 95 percent effective, while the Moderna vaccine was 94.1 percent effective in protecting recipients from the virus.

Mistrust of the vaccine has been prevalent among people of color, who are often acutely aware of the country’s long history of unethically experimenting on Black and Indigenous communities as part of public health and medical research.

Meanwhile, misinformation campaigns have spread conspiracy theories and falsehoods about the vaccine on social media, aiming to reduce trust in the public health measure.

Local health officials from the president of Yale New Haven Hospital on down are working to address the concerns and combat misinformation about the vaccine as part of a ​“Crush Covid” campaign.

The Independent asked people outside the York Street Walgreens and the Whalley Stop & Shop about whether they would receive the vaccine when it becomes accessible to them.

Some said they would wait and see how the vaccine affects patients on a large scale. Others, tired of social distancing and concerned for elderly or immunocompromised loved ones, enthusiastically affirmed they plan to receive the vaccine.

Lance Birt (pictured) said he’ll take the vaccine as soon as possible for the sake of his elderly mother, for whom he cares.

“It’s stressful,” he said of interacting with his mother amid the pandemic. He constantly worries he might accidentally spread the illness. ​“You don’t really know if [the virus] will have symptoms.”

Judy Karpich, a 55-year-old Chapel Street resident who spends most of her time babysitting her grandson, took a more cautious stance.

“I want to see if it works first,” said Karpich. ​“I think that it hasn’t been tested that much. It might be worse than the problem it’s trying to solve.”

Gail Williams said she’s worried that vaccine distribution will either be too rushed or too delayed in Black communities.

“I’m not going to be the first to get it, and I won’t be the last,” said Williams, who works in human services. ​“Too much done happen in the past with Black people getting this stuff.”

For some, medical conditions add a measure of uncertainty to vaccine outcomes.

Ermelinda Ortero said she feels ​“iffy” about the vaccine because she suffers from health problems. ​“I’m worried about the side effects,” she said.

She’s weighing that concern against the severity of Covid-19, which recently affected her aunt, she said. ​“It was heartbreaking” to see her relative experience the illness. (Ortero’s aunt thankfully survived.)

Meanwhile, dramaturgy graduate student Patrick Denney said he feels compelled to take the vaccine as a ​“young, healthy person.”

“They’ve put in the work,” he said of medical researchers. ​“I’m willing to suffer any minor discomfort” associated with the vaccine.

Baseless rumors of planted ​“microchips” in the virus gave at least one Stop & Shop customer pause about the vaccine: Sales representative Rich Davis, who lives in East Haven, said he’s ​“leaning towards” taking the vaccine, but he’s concerned about the rumor, which he heard ​“all over social media.”

Susan Landon, a 63-year-old retiree, said that refusing the vaccine would be ​“selfish for both me and my family. The vaccine is useless if you don’t get a high enough percentage of people to take it.”

“It’s necessary to take on a level of unknown risk,” she said. ​“We don’t have any better ideas. This is our best option right now.”

Al Wilson, whose income comes from collecting bottles, echoed this sentiment. ​“Anyone who doesn’t [accept the vaccine] is crazy,” he said.

Cheryl Frizzelle said she’s turning to her faith for answers about Covid immunization.

“I don’t put my trust and confidence in nobody but God,” she said. A hair stylist who lives on Elm Street, Frizzelle said she has survived cancer, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and hypertension.

“If He has given people knowledge in order to make a vaccine to help people, so be it. Maybe people are in a rush to produce it,” Frizzelle posited. ​“If my doctor says I need to take it, then maybe I will.”

A teacher and doctor’s office staffer who identified herself as Rita B. said she doesn’t expect to get immunized anytime soon. She shared concerns about her lack of health insurance. (Providers aren’t allowed to withhold the Covid-19 vaccine from patients based on insurance status.)

But if and when she can, Rita said, she’ll accept the immunization — ​“just like any other vaccine.”